Before the age of mankind. Before the age of fairy tales, Remnant was but an abandoned land, brimming with potential, but bare of all life all the same. That is until the Twin Gods arrived.
The God of Light and The God of Darkness were always at odds. What the former would create, the latter would inevitably destroy. When the former created animals and plants, the latter created magic, and what are today known as Grimm.
Until they reached an accord… and together, they created humanity, ruling over them and being adored as the supreme beings that they thought they were.
All was well… but everything changed, when a woman named Salem destroyed everything that the Gods had created, all for her stubbornness in refusing to accept death as a natural part of life.
The ensuing battle had as a consequence Salem's defeat and the departure of the Gods from Remnant, but not without their own terms. They gave a mission to the dead man dear to Salem, Ozma, to reunite humanity and the newly created faunus under a single banner, and to then use the four Relics that they left behind to pass judgement. To die and be reborn, again and again, until he either triumphs or gives up.
But… another war ensued. Salem had become the Queen of the Grimm, and her objectives were directly at odds with Ozma's. They fought, both in and out of the battlefield, for thousands of years… until the conflict came to an end.
Ozma and humanity were defeated… and so, darkness prevailed, while light expired. Or so it seems.
Grimm now roam free everywhere, survivors are few and far between, and the ones capable of stopping Salem were broken and turned to her side, their souls corrupted… all but one.
One young man, previously defeated but still unbroken. The last hope that stands in-between Salem and complete victory. Where Ozma had failed, he must prevail, lest Remnant disappears into a black void of despair.
Rise, Brave Huntsman. Hunt the Alpha Grimms that keep the passage to the Kingdoms closed. Cleanse the corruption that plagues your previous companions and seek the Relics, so that the darkness can well and truly be pushed back…
Rise, Jaune Arc. Rise and fight, until you can't no more. Fight and shoulder the pain of this wretched world… for that, is your curse.
. . .
The room was still, apparently frozen in time. Not a single movement could be detected. It was but a small bedroom, only big enough for one person. Nothing but a bed, a desk and a drawer… and human, seemingly deceased. Then… a sharp breath, a heartbeat and the clenching of his fingers. His eyes opened.
The young man, known only as Jaune Arc, looked around the room, recognizing it but just barely. He was elsewhere, he remembered. He was… dead, wasn't he? A hand to his chest disapproved that theory. His heart was still beating, strong and healthy.
No matter. He had a mission to accomplish. Or so he believed. His very soul was screaming to him, that there it was something that he had to do. Slowly, he got out of bed, getting his bearings and learning to walk once again. He wanted to leave. But something in his drawer was calling to me.
The young man heeded the call. He couldn't help but crack a small smile at what he found inside. Of course it was this. What else?
Obtained: Crocea Mors
Placing his trusted sword and shield by his side, he opened the door of the room, stepping outside with purpose. He was on the second floor of a decently sized mansion, enough to house a fairly large family. He'd known, he had experienced all of this before.
Out of curiosity, he checked the other rooms on the floor. All were open, with nothing inside them… except for two, both closed shut.
He grunts in slight disappointment, but easily lets it go in favour of exploring the bottom floor. A big, homely sitting room. A kitchen and several bathrooms were in front of him. On the kitchen table, something shined, encouraging him to go and collect it.
Obtained: Main Bedroom Key
One of the keys to bedrooms upstairs. Might as well go check it out, Jaune thought.
When he opened it he was greeted with the sight of a bigger bedroom than the others, with a double bed on one side. On said bed, another shining object, which he picked up.
Obtained: Aura Boosters X10
Aura Boosters. He remembered these… they were capable of stimulating and regenerating aura in living beings that had it unlocked. Akin to healing items, one could say.
Having checked everything out, Jaune decided to exit the front door, not before extracting the sword of Crocea Mors from its sheet. Somehow, someway, he knew that outside was not safe.
So, with a burst of courage, he opened the front door. On the outside, there was a small town. A town that he was very familiar with. His hometown.
. . .
NEW AREA: ANSEL
. . .
It was an old sight to him. But new at the same time. The buildings were in ruin, and instead of people, Grimm roamed, restless, seeking new prey to devour. These things… disgusted him. Deploying his shield, he stalked out of the house, starting the exploration of the place.
Not too long after, he met his first Grimm. A Beowolf. Easy prey for him. The beast jumped on him, but he quickly blocked the attack, leaving the Grimm stunned long enough for him to get a quick one-two combo. The Beowolf disappeared, defeated.
He couldn't relax yet. He had to find the rest of these beasts and eliminate them.
No more than a minute later, two more Beowolfs attacked him. He jumped backwards, letting the beasts slam their claws in the ground. Swift as the wind, Jaune pounced, slicing off the head of the first Beowolf, while the second recovered. It attacked again, but this time, he couldn't dodge in time, taking damage. He snarled, frustrated, but employed the same tactic as the first Beowolf to eliminate this one.
He sighed, rotating his sword arm. He was definitely rusty. For how long had he been asleep…?
Probably too long, if a simple Beowolf could deal damage to him. Dropping his hand in his pocket, he took out one of the Boosters. Might as well try and see if it works…
Without fear, he raised the Aura Booster and slammed the needle in his side. And suddenly, he felt better. That chunk of aura missing had been restored. They worked.
With a small nod, Jaune raised his guard up once again and trudged on. He met five more Beowolfs, in two groups of two and three respectively. This time he was more careful, and avoided taking damage.
Something caught his eye. On the side of the road, one of Ansel's guards was laying on the ground, rasping for breath. A survivor?!
Quickly, Jaune approached the human, prepared to use one of the Boosters, but stopped when he realized that the man's aura was shattered. It wasn't going to work…
The man inhaled, his eyes focused once again when he detected movement. Then he spoke.
"Who… who is… it? Ahhhh… the young Arc. Should have… known that you of… all people… would survive. I'm… glad to see it…"
The man coughed blood, struggling to speak.
"I know… that look in… your eyes. You… want to know… where your family is, correct? And to… reach them as well".
The guard laughs, like he expected it.
"Well… you'll have… your work cut out… for you… you see, Ansel's citizen… have already been… evacuated. Down in Vale proper. But… the way outside is… blocked by a Grimm. Bigger and meaner than… these small fries that… you have killed…"
Another round of coughing, the man was on his last ropes.
"The… thing ate… the keys to the… gate… if… you want to… leave, you'll have to… kill it. Do you… understand?"
Jaune nods, not willing to speak as to not waste the poor man's limited time.
The guard laughs once more, his eyes lost focus.
"Good. I'm… glad that… Ansel can… finally be… free of… that… mon…ster…"
One last breath and the man was gone. Jaune closed his eyes in mourning, noting how, despite all, the man had died with a smile on his face. So much faith… he couldn't disappoint him.
At once, he got up, leaving the man's body behind, with the intention of finishing up looking around town and then to deal with the beast. He owed it to that poor guard…
. . .
The search had been… kinda fruitful. He found five more Aura Boosters and some metal scraps. He did not know why he took them, he just knew that he had too. But there were no more survivors. Everyone was either dead or had been evacuated. The sight of his hometown, reduced to post apocalyptic dump… made him angrier than he thought possible. So, he was now ready to face the beast.
And face it, he will.
He killed the last stragglers left around and headed for the front gate, prepared for anything.
The front gate was positioned right after the town's square. A big, round patch of earth, where people used to meet up and chat, children used to play… he couldn't bear to think about it.
He reached the end of the square, testing the gate. Closed shut, like the guard had said. Then… a growl, right behind him. He turned promptly, and glared.
The beast had arrived, stalking towards him with killer intent.
In turn, Jaune Arc was ready to hunt.
. . .
URSA MAJOR
. . .
The beast roared, angry at the sight of a human, and Jaune steeled himself for the battle ahead. This was going to be tough.
The Ursa leaped towards him, ready to maul him to shreds. Knowing that he couldn't block that, Jaune jumped aside, countering with slashes of his own.
The beast didn't flinch. It raised an arm and swatted him aside with ease, like he was an insect.
Jaune took an Aura Booster with a mental note. No greed. Slow and steady wins the race.
The Ursa ran towards him with a flurry of arm slashes, so many that he couldn't avoid them all, being so forced to block some of them, taking light damage.
The beast then tried to bite him. He dodged, seeing its back, and saw his chance. Now.
Another couple of slashes, then this time he jumped backwards, avoiding the arm swat.
Jaune smiled to himself. He was learning.
This time, he closed the distance, getting one hit in before being forced to dodge a bite. He ended up on its back again, and went to punish the Grimm.
But Jaune wasn't the only one who learned. The beast leaped backwards, impaling the young man with the thorns on its back.
He fell to the ground in pain, but with enough presence of mind to roll back to his feet to avoid the follow-up.
He took another two Aura Boosters, having taken heavy damage from that attack. He needed to be more careful…
The beast barreled towards him once again, the familiar flurry of attacks making itself known. And Maine did the only thing that he could. He ran from it.
And when the attack ended, the Ursa lost its balance, falling to the ground. Jaune wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity, dealing a good chunk of damage.
The Ursa got up, furious at the puny human who was proving himself difficult to kill. It roared powerfully, pushing Jaune back with sound waves alone.
The battle was just at the beginning.
The Grimm leaped towards him, in a move similar to the one that started it all. Jaune, confident, went to capitalize, but the Ursa swiped left, forcing him to block. The hit was stronger than the ones before, and the young man almost lost his balance.
He pushed his lips together, in thought. It moved differently now, more erratically, desperately. It was stronger… but it didn't have much fuel left in the tank.
He twirled his sword, ready to finish it. He just had to be careful…
The beast was on him, trying to bite him not once, not twice, but three times. The young man punished after the third whiff.
The beast roared once more, forcing Jaime to cover his ears and rooting him in place. This time it was the Ursa's turn to capitalize. One swipe hit, the second one was dodged.
Jaune took some distance, popping another Aura Booster. Come on, he was so close! He could feel it.
The beast barreled towards him once again, in a flurry of slashes. This time, Jaune dodged them all, and the beast fell, like before.
Time to end this. He ran towards the being, raised his sword and impaled it through the neck.
The sound of metal cutting flesh lingered for a second, the Ursa Major shuddered… and finally died, disappearing from Remnant and leaving Jaune with his prize.
. . .
PREY SLAUGHTERED
. . .
Obtained: Ansel's Front Gate Keys
He took a deep breath. It was done, the guard and the rest of the fallen citizens had been avenged. He took the keys and turned to the gate to Ansel, swinging them open.
He had managed to beat the odds this time around. But this was only the beginning, he knew. Walking through the gate, he strapped Crocea Mors to his side. He had no idea why he was here again, or how. There was something that he had to do. He just had to discover what.
Hello? Hello, is this thing on?! It is? Noice.
Hello people of the RWBY fandom, how are you? Welcome to Auraborne, my very own heavily Bloodborne inspired story.
I am a big fan of the From Software games, and I had noticed just how much RWBY and Bloodborne mashed together. Beasts, hunters, Mecha shift weapons and the like, it's basically a match made in heaven. And so here I am, attempting to portray how a RWBY game like Bloodborne could be made. I believe that it's a mine of potential, just waiting to be reaped.
Disclaimer, I am not a RWBY lore connoisseur as one would say. I dropped RWBY halfway through Volume 6, I just couldn't bear the show anymore. I know what happens marginally, but I will try my best to not touch on those specific story beats, trying to rearrange the world as I see fit, to make it make sense in a way. So if something is written that directly contradicts the lore… I am sorry, like really sorry.
As for the timeline of this fic… well, it's mixed of course. After all, time is convoluted in the Soulsborne series.
Thank you for reading and ta-ta for now